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Esperanza Rising
Pam Muñoz Ryan Scholastic, Inc. © 2000 |
Esperanza's family went from
being rich and one of the most respected families living in Mexico, to living in
poverty in America. The week before
her birthday was grape harvesting week and after should have come her birthday
fiesta, but the fiesta never came. The
day before her birthday, her father promised her they would cut the roses after
he fixed a fence on his property for the following day’s celebration.
He never came home. During
the night, his brothers came to comfort the family but they didn't help. An hour
or so later, some of her father's workers brought back the news that he was
dead. One of the brothers proposed marriage to Esperanza's mother, but she
rejected him. Finally, she accepted, but they left for California that night to
live and work at a camp for Mexican immigrants. After about three months of
working there and her mother became ill. Esperanza
took her mother’s place working and earning money to pay for the medical
bills, and to pay for her grandmother to go and live with them. Surviving her
new life was not easy, but she did it . . . barely.
The
suspense in this book was amazing! The
author is a wonderful writer. I would recommend this book for middle school
students because they would be able to connect with the book more.
~ Ashley Aldan, grade 7, Boardman Center Middle School